Sean Penn's transformation into Harvey Milk may amaze moviegoers - even close associates of Milk's, such as his former aide Cleve Jones, say the resemblance is uncanny - but "Milk" is no documentary. Here is a side-by-side chart of the actors and the people portrayed, with some fact-checking help from Jones, who served as a consultant on the film.

Sean Penn: The 48-year-old award-winning actor and sometime Chronicle contributor who lives in Marin County has not shied away from politics in his personal life, making his role as Milk a natural fit. He is rumored to have text-messaged his former wife, Madonna, after kissing actor James Franco, who told Out magazine that Penn wrote, "I just popped my cherry kissing a guy. I thought of you. I don't know why."

What's next: At least two movies in 2009, "Crossing Over," also starring Harrison Ford, and "The Tree of Life," an adaption of Denis Johnson's award-winning book on the Vietnam War.

Harvey Milk: The San Francisco supervisor, who was assassinated by Dan White in 1978, was the first openly gay person elected to high office. The "Milk" biopic has been years in the making, with at least two scripts floating around. While Milk has been a local hero for decades, most people outside the Bay Area would know him from the Academy Award-winning 1984 documentary "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk," directed by Rob Epstein.

Emile Hirsch: The 23-year-old actor knows one of his co-stars especially well - Sean Penn directed Hirsch in his career-making turn as the star of "Into the Wild" (2007). Jones says that Hirsch's onscreen portrayal of him was heartily endorsed by some people who have known Jones for a long time: Jones' mother, father and sister. "They all agree that Emile really did it," Jones says. "I had that big silly hair."

Cleve Jones: As the film shows, Jones, now 54, was a young hustler with big glasses who met Milk on the street and became a key Milk adviser in City Hall. The real Jones says the chronology is a bit off - Jones had stopped hustling by 1975 and was already a political person - but other than that, the film got it right.

What's next: After Milk's assassination, Jones became an AIDS activist, co-founding the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in 1983, and creating the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1987. He now lives in Southern California and will continue to work as a community organizer for the UNITE HERE union.

James Franco: The 30-year-old actor was most recently seen starring as the stoner hero of the Judd Apatow-produced "Pineapple Express." He is now living in New York, pursuing advanced degrees in creative writing and filmmaking.

Scott Smith: The longtime, much-younger lover of Milk met the future supervisor in New York and moved to San Francisco to live with him. Unfortunately, as the film shows, a rift developed between the two as Milk became more involved with politics. Jones says that the basic chronology of Smith's relationship with Milk is correct, although the film's rather fanciful suggestion that the two would have gotten back together if Milk had lived is not. Smith died of complications from AIDS in February 1995.

Alison Pill: The 22-year-old Canadian actress has come a long way since being cast as "Friend No. 2" in "You're Invited to Mary-Kate & Ashley's Camping Party" in 1998. She stands out as one of the only women in the film, playing one of the only women on Milk's campaign team.

What's next: Pill has four films on the docket for 2009: "One Way to Valhalla," "The Other Side," "Thicker" and "Sweet Baby Jesus."

Anne Kronenberg: The fiery lesbian who helped lead Milk to victory in his campaign to be a supervisor was, Jones says, a "big sister" to "a crazy group of gay men." In the film, as in life, she became an adviser to Milk at City Hall.

Victor Garber: The 59-year-old Canadian actor plays Mayor George Moscone, who was killed by Dan White. In addition to currently appearing in the television legal drama "Eli Stone," which is set in San Francisco, Garber is a veteran character actor who has appeared in "Titanic," "Legally Blonde" and many other roles.

What's next: The TV miniseries "The Last Templar."

George Moscone: The Democratic mayor of San Francisco, who served from 1976 until he was shot by Dan White in 1978, appears onscreen as an ally of Milk. This is factual: Moscone was an early heterosexual proponent of gay rights, helping repeal an anti-sodomy law as a state assemblyman before becoming mayor.

Josh Brolin: The 40-year-old actor bears a striking resemblance to handsome, homicidal Dan White, whom he plays in the movie. Brolin was seen in last year's best picture Oscar winner, "No Country for Old Men," and this fall as President Bush in "W." But many fans still think of him as one of the teens in his 1985 debut, "The Goonies."

What's next: He is rumored to be starring in the comic-book adaptation "Jonah Hex."

Dan White: "Milk" improvises a scene between White and Harvey Milk to characterize White's confused mental state. White, a firefighter-turned-politician, was elected supervisor of the conservative Irish Catholic District Eight in 1977, but it was land zoning, not gay rights, that first set him and Milk against each other. When White resigned his seat and then wanted it back, Milk is shown asking Mayor George Moscone to say no, which the mayor did. On Nov. 27, 1978, White shot Moscone and Milk at City Hall. White served five years of a seven-year voluntary-manslaughter sentence and committed suicide in 1985.

Diego Luna: Mexican-born, 28-year-old Luna brings an edge to the role of Milk lover Jack Lira. Luna is probably best known for his breakout role in 2001's "Y Tu Mamá También."

What's next: He will appear in the horror movie "In the Playground," scheduled for 2010.

Jack Lira: According to former Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts' Milk biography, "The Mayor of Castro Street," Lira was one of many "young waifs with substance-abuse problems" who dated Milk. The film follows the story of their involvement accurately, as they are said to have met when Lira was staring into Milk's Castro Street camera shop. Disliked by many of Milk's friends, Lira hanged himself at Milk's apartment in 1978, before Milk's death.

Ashlee Temple: This actress has only two credits to her name and, unfortunately, "Milk" audiences won't be seeing her face. As Dianne Feinstein, she appears in the film only as a blurry head.

What's next: In an e-mail, Temple writes, "Since completing 'Milk,' I have moved to Denver, where I currently teach acting to the master's of fine arts students at the National Theatre Conservatory."

Dianne Feinstein: The California senator, 75, was president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors at the time of Milk and Mayor George Moscone's assassinations. Although she became mayor after Moscone's death and served two more terms, she is barely a blip in the film. Jones says that the snide comments directed at Feinstein from Milk in the movie are true to life, as she was never one of Milk's favorite people.

What's next: Feinstein, who ran for governor of California in 1990 and became a senator in 1992, is rumored to be considering another gubernatorial bid.